A Day Trip

This weekend has been a busy one so far. We got up early on Saturday morning and by 6:30 we were in the car on the way to visit my parents for the day. They live over 200 miles away, so its takes a good amount of time to get there. We had hoped the girls would sleep most of the way, but it didn't quite work that way...
We got up at about 6 and packed the car and then went to get the girls up. I got the big one and my wife the little one. I changed her diaper and carefully wrapped her in her blanket, all the while she was out. I lifted her up to my shoulder and she was still out. Carefully I walked out to the car - it was a beautiful morning, not too cool and so I thought I was in the clear. My wife had already buckled the little one in, and she was looking around with very drowsy eyes. I carefully sat the bigger one down and - wouldn't you know - the second she was in the car seat, she said, "Where are we going, Mama?" My wife reminded her that we were going to visit Grandma and Grandpa, but after that, she was awake.
Our trip was for a two-fold purpose. My brother is engaged to be married soon, and it was his fiance's bridal shower, so the girls were going to that. "The Girl Party" as my eldest called it was set to begin at 1, so we had to make it a quick trip. The other reason we were heading there was to visit as we hadn't seem my parents in nearly a month and my sister and her husband since Christmas.
We made excellent time and arrived with enough time before lunch that we could visit my ailing Grandpa. My Grandma was called home this fall after 63 years of marriage, and since then my Grandpa is suffering from a heart condition - a broken heart that is. He is very lonely, but my parents and my brothers and sisters visit him when they can, but he is just ready to move on himself.
After arriving at my parent's house, we had lunch and the girls left for the shower. I was left with my Dad and my younger brother, who will be inheriting the family farm. They asked if I wanted to help them with the cows they were working. I decided a little farm work might be fun, so I agreed and changed into some work clothes.
It is an interesting thing when you do something that takes you back 5-10 years. I haven't done hardly any farm work since graduating and getting a job. Its hard for us to get back and when we do, we usually spend most of the time visiting people and trying to catch up. This time however, I was able to get out and help.
My dad and I have always had a pretty good relationship. In fact, I would say that for most of my high school and college years, we was probably my best friend as well as my hero. We didn't have a falling out or anything that changed it, but the physical distance between us has definitely put space between us. I would still consider us good friends, but we just don't have that same relationship we did a few years ago. Maybe it is because now I have a family of my own, maybe because I moved in a different direction careerwise, maybe its just how the Father planned it, but things have change. However, as we were working those cattle, things came back to me from when I had been a part of things there and I realized that we really hadn't grown apart - we just don't have our time together that we used to. As we sorted, paired, and drove the cattle, I couldn't help but think about the old days. Iwas very refreshing.
My mom later asked me how it was, but I didn't know how to respond. I enjoyed being useful, being a part of the farm again, and especially the time with my dad and my brother. However, comparing the career I have chosen, programming computers, and the farm is not possible. After living on a farm for 21 years, I still can't understand why cows behave a certain way. I can tell you about mannerisms they have, what to expect from them, and proper care for them, but I can't figure out what they are thinking most of the time. With computers, I have grown better at understanding them with each passing day and determined that my mind is very good at thinking with the kind of logic a computer uses. I guess the whole issue is that while my dad was able to teach me a lot about cows and farming, I never had that natural "Click" where things just made sense. Computers did "Click" and thus became my passion. It is evident to me that my dad had this "Click" and my brother, too. But for me, while the farm will always be a part of me, as well as the lessons I learned from it, it became aparent that that wasn't part of the mission God has given me.
My daughters have a little half sphere toy with shapes cut out of it and plastic shapes that fit in those holes. I discovered one evening that there are 3 different shapes that will fit through the pentagon hole: The star, pentagon, and triangle. I think God made me like that hole and while there are many things that could have fit me, there is only one that is the most correct for me.
I really enjoyed the time with my dad and brother. The work was different than I am used to now, but it was enjoyable for the day. So if my mom were to ask me the question now, I would say, "Yes, I did enjoy helping out."
After all of that, we arrived back at their house and I had a quick shower. We played with the girls for a little bit and then it was supper time. We ate and got packed up. After a little more play time, the girls and I got back in the car and headed back home.
The trip home went pretty well, save the last 45 minutes. The girls were so exhausted because the only nap they had had was a 20 minute snooze they took while everyone else was eating. With about 45 minutes left, the younger decided she had had her fill of the car and wanted out. My wife and I sang every song we could think of and she even got in the back seat trying to calm her down. Finally, at about 11, we pulled into the garage. We had changed the girls into their pajamas before leaving my parents house and so we put them straight to bed. We expected some fuss, but both of them were asleep in about 5 minutes.

The trip went well, but it was rather exhausting and we used part of today to recover from that. But recovery time is over now, so I'm back to my mission...